Audio By Carbonatix
Though it strikes us today as being ultra-traditional, Western art dates back to a little over a century and a half ago — not very long in the art world. A new exhibit devoted to Charles Deas, who’s been called the Vermeer of Western art, sheds some light on the start of this genre. The mini-blockbuster Charles Deas and 1840s America, a retrospective at the Denver Art Museum, is the first show ever mounted for Deas, who was “almost unknown for more than a century following his commitment to an insane asylum in 1848,” says Joan Carpenter Troccoli, who co-curated the show with Carol Clark. And it’s being mounted here in Denver.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see virtually every existing work by Deas,” adds Troccoli, who describes that work as “edgy, sometimes violent, but always memorable.”
The show opens at 10 a.m. today in the DAM’s Hamilton building, 100 West 14th Avenue Parkway; entry is included with general admission ($3-$13). For more information, call 720-865-5000 or go to www.denverartmuseum.org.
Aug. 21-Nov. 28, 2010
